


Hanoi

by itzbianqueen



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, No Plot/Plotless, Reunion Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:33:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21982969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzbianqueen/pseuds/itzbianqueen
Summary: Inspired by a tweet that speculated that Raquel and Sergio could reunite in Hanoi, Vietnam after part 4 in homage to the bar they met in.So I wrote my own sappy and smutty version of that reunion because it's what we all deserve.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 115





	Hanoi

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on this story! In my own frustration of wishing there was more English serquel fic, I challenged myself to try and write some myself. I don't have a lot of experience writing fic or fiction in general, so I'm starting with a really cheesy one-shot. Please be kind! haha
> 
> If you're not into plot-less fluff, sap and smut, this story probably isn't for you. If you love those things, I hope you enjoy! :)

They were back again. 

The heist was over and the team was back on the same boat in international waters, running away from Madrid for the second time - this time with many more scars and only a couple of sacks of gold.

Unfortunately, not all of them made it to the end. Sergio lost track of Marseille in the final hours of the chaos and Raquel… it hurt too much to think about.

Sergio looked at the group he now called “family” and smiled to see Nairobi recovering (albeit slowly) with Helsinki by her side doing everything in his power to make her smile. Palermo was looking at the floor deep in thought. Sergio knew that even under his tough exterior, he had a big heart. He was feeling the weight of the lives they took, and Sergio didn’t blame him. He felt it too.

And then there was Tokio and Rio who were seated at opposite sides of the boat looking anywhere but at each other. He wished he could find the words to tell them how lucky they were to have each other and that they now had time to work on their future. And how being stubborn when there is clearly still so much love between them would only waste precious time… but instead, he looked to the ground and sighed wishing he’d had more time with Raquel. 

“Professor?”

“Tokio,” he smiled softly. “How are you?”

“I should be asking you that,” she frowned as she sat next to him. “You look horrible.”

Sergio tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. “I’m…”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know you hate that you left her behind…”

He took a deep breath not wanting to be confronted with the pain of losing her… again.

“She switched sides. I told you she would… and in the end, she tried to destroy this. I can’t believe you’re-”

“She didn’t,” he interrupted.

“Letting her get to you…” Tokio continued and then stopped. “Sergio, you don’t believe…”

“It was part of the plan. To look like she turned on us. We didn’t tell any of you because we wanted it to look real if she was captured, but she gave them just enough to think they had the upper hand, regain some of their trust… just to, at the last second, give us the time we needed to escape.”

Tokio was stunned by this news… “Oh Sergio… then why isn’t she..”

“Because there wasn’t time,” he told her in a soft voice, “and we both decided that no matter what happened, we’d put the gang first.”

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea she sacrificed her freedom for us…”

“For me,” he corrected her softly. It wasn’t lost on him that in the last heist he also lost one of the people who he loved the most to give them the time they needed. To save him.

Tokio looked at the man in front of her and saw just how defeated he looked. How helpless he felt and pulled him into a hug. 

He hugged her back tightly. “Thank you.” he whispered and then let her go to walk to the front of the ship to check their location. He turned to address the group. 

“In 30 minutes, we’ll be on the coast in Algeria where there will be vehicles waiting for us.”

“Where will you be, professor?” Nairobi asked weakly. Sergio could tell she was concerned about him going off on his own.

“I-...”

“You can come with me and Helsinki…” she suggested

“Yes! We have plenty of room..” Helsinki quickly agreed.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Tokio chimed in.

“Thank you all for your kind offers and concern, but I’m not getting off this boat.”

“What?” Tokio stood. “Where are you going?”

Sergio turned his body and looked back towards Spain.

“No no no,” Tokio ran to him, “You can’t.”

“Professor, you can’t do this,” Denver finally chimed in. 

“He’s right,” Monica agreed. “We all know you loved Raquel but she betrayed us. You can’t risk your life for her…”

“She didn’t. It was all part of our plan if she was captured,” He addressed the whole group this time, sharing the details he earlier revealed to Tokio.

“Wow, she did all that?” Monica asked in awe of the woman she became fast friends with during the weeks they planned the heist.

“She did,” Sergio confirmed. “And when I started to execute the plan to break her free, she knew it was her or all of you, so she chose to stay behind.”

“She saved us,” Tokio confirmed while having a flashback to the moment where she tried to convince Sergio that she’d betray them all. No wonder she was slapped. Raquel was always all in. 

“What’s going to happen to her?” Monica asked.

Sergio looked down, “She’ll be put on trial for all of our crimes,” he revealed. “She was able to reduce the sentence but because her intel failed in the end, it probably won’t help much.”

“You have to save her, Professor,” Tokio spoke up, shocking him that she was, again, taking Raquel’s side. 

“I will do everything in my power to do that - even if it means turning myself in.”  
  
As the full team began to protest this, they arrived on land on the coast of rural Algeria where the people who were hired to transport them were waiting. 

“Enjoy your lives, again.” Sergio smiled as the boat was docked. “NO SATELLITE PHONES.” 

The group chuckled at this. “We learned our lesson,” Rio smiled. “Thank you all again for coming to save me. I can never repay you all for this.”

Sergio went up to the young man and hugged him. “We’re family,” he smiled. “You all have the emergency numbers. Same protocol as before.” He lectured one last time. 

“We should go back with you,” Tokio spoke up as everyone was about to leave the boat. “Lisboa is family too.”

Before Sergio could respond, he saw a figure running towards the boat yelling, “Professor!”

“Marseilles?!” Sergio asked, “How did you know to come here? How did you get here?!” He ran towards the man and gave him a hug in relief that they hadn’t lost another team member.

“Raquel,” he responded. “She orchestrated it,” he smiled.

Sergio looked confused for a moment. He was the chess player in this scenario. _This was off script - what was she doing?_

“What’s going on?”

Marseilles smiled at him, “Come with me.”

Sergio began to protest and share his plan to go back to Spain to find a way to get Raquel back. 

“There’s no need,” He said succinctly. 

“Is she…?” Sergio started to look around, searching for his love. 

“She’s not here,” He revealed. “But I have been informed to give you this. Her orders.”

Sergio took the envelope, looked around at the group and then back to Marseilles, trying to control all of the emotions he was feeling - confusion, sadness, anger… and a small bit of hope?

“Is she okay?” Sergio finally asked, fearing the answer.

“I don’t know,” Marseilles revealed. “When you were all escaping and she was still in the tent, there was an explosion in the crowd which caused a lot of chaos in the streets,” he admitted.

“Is she...”

“She was okay. She found me when the police were distracted and gave me strict instructions on what to do next.”

“Then what happened?” 

“She left,” he continued. “She told me that if I follow these instructions and find you, all would be fine. And she told me to tell you _Project Hanoi._ ”

Sergio smiled at that. She was okay. This was the name of their initial escape plan - which he’d also revealed to her during a night of passion. He really did need to charge her for all of the pajamas of his she destroyed during their nightly “classes”.

Sergio opened the envelope and unfolded the paper - _her handwriting_. With tears of relief in his eyes, Sergio hugged the man in front of him and turned the group with the first genuine smile on his face since they rescued Rio.

“Lisboa is okay,” He informed the group. After all the cheers and hugs in celebration of every member surviving the most chaotic heist any of them had been apart of, they parted ways. 

Sergio nodded at Marseilles in gratitude for all of his help before he joined the rest of the group, leaving Sergio on his own. He turned back to the man designated to take him to the airport and smiled. 

He hoped this was the right move.

*******

After 20 hours of sitting impatiently on a private jet, Sergio finally arrived at his destination. He was out of his seat before the door opened, the excitement and nerves of seeing Raquel overtaking his whole body. It may have only been a week since they were separated, but it felt like a lifetime in his heart with the myriad of emotions starting with the grief of losing her to the relief of learning she was alive to the fear of never being reunited again over those seven days.

He walked off the plane and into the terminal. _Welcome to Vietnam_ was the first thing he saw on a large mural before arriving at customs. He opened Raquel’s envelope with the travel visa and a note telling him to go to the fifth counter.

He followed her instructions with only a bit of anxiety since he was relinquishing his own control at this point. As much as he hated this feeling, there wasn’t anyone he trusted more in this world.

He walked up to the customs agent, handing over his fake passport and visa. He knew the man spoke no English, so he stood there silently for a few minutes while the agent inputted his information in the computer. He then handed over his passport and nodded. Sergio smiled back politely and walked towards the baggage claim relieved. They had always avoided Vietnam because of their strict communist government, but he also knew how easy it was to bribe many of the front-line workers. Raquel must have organized this.

Once he left the quiet airport, he was overwhelmed by the heat, the smell of vehicle exhaust, and the constant honking of cars and motorbikes attempting to get through the small terminal. In his envelope, there was an instruction to look for a young man with a sign that said “Salva” on it. He smiled at that as he looked around for a few moments. 

Once he set his eyes on the young man, he smiled, “Xin Chao, em”

“Hello, welcome to Hanoi” he smiled and took Sergio’s backpack gesturing for him to follow. Once they were in the large black SUV, the man looked at him and smiled. “ _Chin mot Trinh Cong Son”_ he confirmed.

Sergio looked at Raquel’s letter but didn’t see an address. He simply nodded and hoped this young man knew where he was going. “Where you from?” he asked as they pulled on the highway.

Sergio lied and told the young man he was from America which excited his driver, inspiring him to animatedly share how amazing America was, retell the moments in history he recently learned in his English group, and how he wishes to study there one day. Sergio smiled and encouraged him to follow his dreams. After 20 minutes of driving through the chaotic streets of Hanoi filled with motorbikes, cars, and buses all honking to announce their presence, they turned on a quiet street with two large ponds. It was beautiful. 

The car stopped in front of Sunday Cafe, and the young man got out to open Sergio’s door. When he got out of the SUV and breathed in the air, he felt the pollution in his lungs right away and looked at the cafe. _Where was he?_

He looked back at the young driver, “Cảm ơn, em” (thank you). And then took an envelope of money from his bag and gave him $30,000 USD, “For your studies” he explained in English. The young boy looked shocked, and Sergio simply patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

He walked over to an older gentleman seated on a stool in front of the parking garage. He handed him a note that said “7th Floor” with a big smile on his face while saying something in Vietnamese.Sergio simply nodded and ran into the building, hoping he’d finally reached his destination after this long journey. The nerves of not knowing what was coming next starting to overwhelm him.

Sergio passed a cafe and smiled at the young girl making a mango smoothie behind the counter. She gestured towards the back where the elevator was.

He jogged over and pressed the button, waiting impatiently to get to Raquel. Once he was inside, his heart began to race. His excitement and nerves for what was to come next overwhelmed him until the elevator reached the top floor of the small building.

He went straight to the only door and knocked three times as he was instructed. He was ready to see Raquel’s face open the door but was greeted by an older Vietnamese woman who smiled at him. “Hello,” she smiled. _What was going on?_

“Bedroom,” the woman smiled, taking pity on his confused expression and then left the penthouse apartment.

“Raquel?!” He called out. For a moment, there was no response and he had this sinking fear that this was a trap until he made it to the bedroom and saw the candles placed carefully around the room.

She finally revealed herself from behind the large closet and smiled. She was wearing a white robe, but Sergio couldn’t think about that right now. All he could do was stare at her. 

Raquel was here. His Raquel was alive in front of him again. Tears formed in his eyes while he stood frozen at the door staring at her. 

“You made it,” she smiled at him, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of him. She was worried that her plan wouldn’t work, but when she got the signal from Marseilles that Sergio had her envelope, she put everything into motion and prayed. She knew he would feel uncomfortable not being in control, but she wanted this moment to be a surprise.

“How did you? I thought…” he started not being able to form the words while still glued to the same spot.

Raquel, seeing that he was paralyzed by his own emotion, ran over to him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so sorry,” she cried into his arms. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Raquel,” he whispered trying to comfort her. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“When I couldn’t find a good tree, I panicked… and then when I couldn’t climb it, I saw the police searching, and I ran. I did the very thing you told me not to…” she cried as they held each other.

“You did what you had to in the moment,” he whispered. 

“You ordered Palermo to kill, Sergio,” she cried. “The very last thing you wanted to do was harm anyone, and if I hadn’t…”

“Stop!” he interrupted. “We did what we had to do, but we’re here now. Stop blaming yourself.” He pulled back and looked at her beautiful face that was wet from tears. While wiping them away, he leaned forward and kissed her slowly, elated to feel her lips on his again. _Home._

It only took a few seconds for the tension between them to spark as their hands began to caress each others cheeks as they deepened the kiss. It soon became a passionate mess of tongues, teeth and lips smacking as they lost themselves in each other, needing to be as close as possible. 

Raquel was the first to pull away when air became an issue and peppered his lips with a few more kisses before hugging him once again. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Why am I here?” he asked confused about the location. They had called the plan _Project Hanoi_ but the original plan was to meet back in Palawan if they were separated. 

Raquel was ignoring him as she started to take off his suit jacket. “I’ll tell you everything but first, please…,” she responded while starting to remove his tie. “Why are you in a full suit,” she complained as she moved on to his shirt.

During her moment of frustration, Sergio couldn’t help but be amused, “Inspectora, I think you’re trying to get me naked.”

She took off his shirt just to curse _joder_ under her breath when confronted by his undershirt. “For God's sake Sergio, you couldn’t have changed into less layers?!”

He laughed, “And here I thought we were going to talk…”

“Talking is overrated,” she sighed while removing his undershirt and letting her hands glide across his chest, happy to finally find skin. 

He was about to laugh again until he met her eyes and saw her passion for him. It was as if a switch went off in his head where he was suddenly consumed by his need for her. Wasting no time, Sergio took her into his arms and carried her towards the bed.

“Finally,” she sighed happily as she brought her lips to his again while he placed her carefully on the hard mattress. She wasted no time finding his tongue, gliding over his with her own causing them both to moan in each other’s mouths. 

“God, I’ve missed you,” Sergio whispered kissing her again in an attempt to show her just how much she meant to him and how thankful he was to be with her again.

Growing bolder, Raquel flipped them over on the bed placing herself on top of him. “Me too,” she mumbled going in for another kiss. “And I missed your lips,”

Sergio smiled at this while pecking her lips one last time. He moved her hair that was blocking her face out of the way. “What else did you miss?” he asked playfully.

She smiled at him mischievously, “Well professor…” she whispered while moving her lips to his neck, causing his to moan, “I missed hearing you moan when I kiss you here..”

She moved towards his left shoulder, placing a kiss on it. “I definitely missed your shoulders…”

“Oh did you,” he laughed while she continued to move her mouth to his chest dropping small kisses all over it. As her mouth got closer to his nipples, he could feel his arousal strain against his pants.

“I really missed your chest,” she grinned while she kissed her way down to where his pants sat on his waist. She unbuckled his belt, removing it quickly and unzipped his pants. “But do you want to know what I missed the most?”

Sergio couldn’t breathe for the moment she gripped his pants and boxers to pull them down his legs. His erection bounced upwards as she slid the fabric to his feet and threw them on the ground carelessly. He was trying to care about the wrinkles, feeling his OCD may start to invade his thoughts, but the second her eyes went to his hard cock, he forgot what clothes even were.

“Raquel,” he whispered…

“Yes, my love?” she answered while moving her mouth toward him, dropping a kiss on the head of his dick, licking it slowly. 

He groaned in response unable to put together words while she continued to shower him with kisses.

“This is what I missed the most.” . 

Sergio could only respond with heavier breaths as her tongue ran up the side of him. “Raquel,” he breathed not even realising he’d said her name. After a few minutes of teasing, she finally gave him what he wanted and put her mouth over him. 

“Yessss,” he hissed while her head bobbed up and down.

When she sensed he was getting too close to bursting, she took her mouth off of him and kissed her way back up to his mouth, leaving a small kiss on the side of it.

“Is there anything you missed about me?” she teased.

He looked up at her suddenly annoyed she was still in her robe. “Why is this still on?” 

She sat up in front of him on her knees, encouraging him to sit up with her. “Because you haven’t taken it off,” she answered in feigned annoyance. 

Sergio moved his hands to the knot around her waist. He untied it letting her robe open to quickly realize she wasn’t wearing anything under it. His breath hitched for a second. _God, she was beautiful._

“Well?” she asked again waiting for him to answer her question.

“Everything,” he sighed, letting his gaze look at every inch of her incredible body. “I missed everything about you,”

Not wasting another moment, he brought his lips back to hers, tasting himself on her tongue. “I missed your mouth,” he began, moving his mouth to her chin leaving a kiss on it.

“I missed your neck, especially this spot that always…” he pressed his lips firmly to the side of her neck and she groaned. “Exactly.”

He moved her body up slightly to continue kissing down her chest towards her breasts. “Oh, did I ever miss these,” he said while leaving light kisses over her left breast ignoring her hard nipple. He chuckled when he heard her groan. He finally gave her what she wanted, placing his mouth over her nipple licking around it.

“Yessssss” she hissed

He continued to suck on it for a few more seconds, elated to hear her moans again. He missed how vocal she was when he teased her breasts. 

“Sergio,” she warned not in the mood for more teasing. 

Sergio laughed while moving his hand down to her slit while teasing her other nipple with his tongue. “You’re so wet,”

She gave him a look to warn him to stop teasing. He smiled while bringing his fingers to his mouth to taste her. 

“But do you know what I missed the most?” He asked imitating her earlier statement while placing his hands on her ass to move her towards him as he lay back on the bed.

“And what is that, professor,” she grinned while moving her body sightly to sit on his face. When she felt his tongue run across her, she couldn’t hold back the moan. _How she missed his tongue._

“How you taste,” he continued to lick around her clit causing her to feel waves of pleasure all the way to the back of her throat. 

“Don’t stop,” she moaned as she began to move her hips into his mouth with her hands on her breasts, pulling at her nipples.

They stayed like this for a few more minutes -- him licking and sucking her passionately while she grinded herself into his face. When Sergio sensed she was close, he moved her off of him and pushed her onto the bed quickly placing his body on top of hers. He wanted to be inside her when they both let go.

He could hear the frustration in her sigh at their new position. He simply smiled and kissed her.

Feeling his hardness on her leg, Raquel positioned him over her and opened her legs to show Sergio that she was ready for him.

He knew this wasn’t the most exciting position, but more than anything, he wanted to be close to her. He wanted to feel the intimacy of this reunion that just a few hours ago he didn’t think was possible.

He moved his cock towards her opening, sliding the tip long her clit. This caused her to moan and open her legs even wider.

“Please, Sergio,” she begged. 

He finally entered her slowly and they both gasped. _Pure bliss._

With their foreheads touching, breaths mingling and the pleasure between them growing stronger, Sergio forgot the world existed and could only feel the woman he loved below him. He was so lost that he couldn’t control the next words that came from his mouth.

“Marry me,” he sighed.

“Yes,” she responded and then grabbed his ass to bring him even closer.

Without even realizing the magnitude of his question and her response, Sergio sensed she was close and placed two fingers on her clit, rubbing it in quick circles.

“Let go, my love” 

And with those words, Raquel felt her whole body shake. God this man knew how to make her cum. 

Sergio then followed her and grunted when his orgasm overtook him.

“I missed that,” Raquel smiled and hugged his body close to hers.

“Me too,” he agreed while lightly kissing her lips eventually moving his body off of hers. Once he was settled next to her, she moved into his arms.

“That was…”

“Amazing,” he finished. 

They lay together in silence for a few minutes to catch their breaths. 

“Did you ask me to marry you?” Raquel asked when she was finally regaining some clarity.

“Did you say yes?”

“Oh no no no…” Raquel sat up and put her head in her hands.

Suddenly alarmed, Sergio sat next to her and nervously asked, “Do you not want to…”

When she saw how heartbroken he looked, she quickly assured him, “Of course I want to. It’s not that…”

“What is it?”

“I wanted to ask YOU.”

“What…”

“I know I teased you about asking me properly, but it’s the 21st century and I knew the second I found my way out, all I wanted to do was find the most romantic way to ask you..”

“You..” Sergio was still struggling to grasp what what happening. She wanted to… ask him?!

“That’s why we’re here. It was almost two years ago tomorrow that I met “Salva” in Hanoi. And I knew we couldn’t have this moment at Hanoi in Madrid, so I thought… what’s the next best thing?”

“Raquel…” 

“I know it’s stupid but I had it all planned.”

“Raquel…” he repeated unsure of how to respond. No one had ever tried to do something so special for him before… he could barely breathe he was so touched. 

“Raquel, I was planning to propose too,” he smiled. “The moment I knew you were alive, I was already looking at rings because even though the heist wasn’t over, I was sure of two things. One - I would fight to the death to get you back and two - I was going to propose the moment I saw you again… because for the first time in my life, I’m happy. I’m not thinking about revenge or ways to challenge the system every day because all I can think about is how much I love our life together. How you’ve shown me the joy of being IN the moment rather than planning it. You’ve made me happier than I even thought was possible…”

“Oh, Sergio…” she whispered as tears formed in her eyes.

“And getting on that boat without you, not knowing if you were safe nearly killed me. Not having you by my side, even when we’re fighting…” they smile at each other knowing how passionate their fights can get, “no longer makes sense to me. And I think maybe I started to take that for granted…”

“Maybe we both did,” she looked into his eyes and put her hand on his cheek. “Sergio, we both said a lot of things and some of it I wish I could take back…”

“Me too,” he quickly chimed in while placing his hand over hers on his cheek. “When I thought you were dead, all I could think about was wishing I told you how much I value you. And not just as a girlfriend but as a partner.”

Raquel's eyes softened at finally hearing the words she hoped he'd have told her during the heist. “Thank you. That means a lot to hear you say...”

“And thank you for risking so much to get us out of the bank. I don’t know how you did it…”

Raquel kissed him again and started to move out of the bed, her full naked body in view. He lost his breath for a moment as he always did. _She was perfect._

“You don’t work for the police for 20 years without having a few friends,” she smiled as she grabbed the Oppo phone she bought at FPT and checked her notifications. She quickly sent back a message. "Many were so disgusted by what happened to Rio and Nairobi that it was easy to get them on our side," she smiled.

"I never thought I would be thanking the police..."

Raquel simply laughed, “Now, go shower and get dressed.” 

Sergio looked confused.

“We have plans,” she smiled. 

He moved out of bed also fully naked and pulled her into her hug, pressing his body onto hers. “Only if you join me,” he whispered in her ear in an attempt to be seductive.

She looked up at him ready to refuse, but couldn’t resist the playful smirk on his face. “Fine, but if you get my hair wet, I’ll kill you,”

“Deal,” he smiled and grabbed her hand to pull her towards the bathroom. He was relieved to see that the whole bathroom acted as a shower, giving them plenty of room to have a little fun.

After 15 minutes of rubbing soap all over each others bodies and giggling when they both took extra care in a few places, Raquel quickly rinsed them both off and turned off the shower.

“There’s a suit for you in the closet,” she informed him while wrapping a towel around his waist and then grabbing one for herself.

“What’s going on, Raquel?” he asked again, starting to feel frustrated how vague she was being.

“You’re just going to have to trust me,” she teased. 

He left the bathroom mumbling to himself in frustration, yet Raquel could still see the smile in his eyes. She knew he hated not being the one in control of planning every move, but that it would be worth it in the end. _She hoped._

*******

It was only an hour later that Sergio and Raquel were stepping out of a taxi in front of Hanoi’s most impressive temple with Sergio dressed in a black suit and Raquel in a simple off-white strapless maxi stress that flowed to her ankles.

“This is the Temple of Literature,” she smiled, “where they honour education, _professor_ ”

“It’s beautiful,” he responded in awe at the 1000+ year old architectural marvel in front of him that was situated in between the busy streets of downtown Hanoi.

Raquel grabbed Sergio’s hand, threading her fingers into his and led him to the impressive entrance. She smiled at the security guard who nodded in return and gestured for them to enter.

Sergio gasped at the gardens and two rectangular ponds mirroring each other on each side. There was a paved path leading to a smaller entrance that was just as ornate as the main gate. He couldn’t stop marveling over how beautiful and serene it was, especially since it wasn’t currently filled with tourists.

“Come on,” she pulled his hand to get his attention and led them to the smaller entrance at the centre of the gardens. 

When they walked up the three steps into the small structure, Sergio looked forward and saw many familiar faces on the other side - Paula and Marivi were at the front smiling at them, and his “students” from both heists who they now called family - Tokio, Rio, Denver, Stockholm, Nairobi,and Helsinki - were looking at the couple intently. He even saw Martin (Palermo) in the small crowd smiling at him. _How did she do this?_

Just as he was about to ask her how she pulled this off, he looked back at Raquel only to find her on one knee in front of him with tears streaming down her face. He stopped breathing for a moment.

“Sergio, I know you already asked and I said that I was planning to just propose, but I lied. This is our wedding…”

He looked completely dumbfounded unable to process just how big of a gesture this was… _for_ _him._ No one had ever done anything so grand for him before. He felt like he was floating over how surreal this moment was. He was brought back to reality when she took his hand.

“When I was captured, there was a brief moment when I thought I was going to die. You were yelling in my ear to buy time while Suarez had a gun on my forehead…. But I couldn’t do it. Too much was at stake for me to turn you in,” she took a deep breath in an attempt to stop the sobs that wanted to be released from within…

Sergio quickly got on his knees to look at her at eye level. She squeezed his hands and continued.

“In those seconds, our life together flashed before my eyes. I never imagined I’d one day live the life of a fugitive, but my life is so much better because of you. Getting to know you this past year has shown me how smart, kind and generous you are. I feel like for the first time in my life, I finally understand what love is supposed to mean,” she paused for a moment, searching for the words to convey the depth of her feelings for him.

“I love everything about you,” she cried. “I love how you make me those origami loves notes when you wake up before me, I love the way you laugh with my mother when she tells a story, and I love the way you’ve worked so hard to build a relationship with Paula… And when I thought…”

Tears were streaming down both their faces during her speech along with many in the crowd who were witnessing just how deep the love between the professor and the former inspector went.

Sergio grabbed a cloth from his pocket and wiped her tears carefully not wanting to smudge her makeup. 

She thanked him and gestured that she wasn’t done yet. “When I thought it could be over, I felt so crushed. We only had a short amount of time together and it wasn’t fair that it was going to end... ” she sniffled. “But somehow we got lucky. We got another chance."

“We did,” he agreed also crying over how lucky they were to be together again.

“And I don’t want to waste another second of it. So, Sergio Marquina, will you marry me? Right now in front of our friends and family?”

He answered by kissing her with as much passion as he could to convey just how much he loved her. The two lost themselves in each other for a few seconds until he pulled away from her, leaning his forehead against hers.

“There’s nothing in this world I want more,” he grinned, standing up with her and looking at the crowd in front of him who were all cheering and whistling at the moment of true love they just watched.

“Thank you for organizing all of this. I still can't believe you did this."

"I guess you're not the only chess player in this relationship," she teased.

Sergio laughed, "This is the only time I'll let you have this much control,"

"We'll see about that, darling," she winked, "Now, let's get married already!"

He nodded, took her arm in his and led her down the "aisle" towards a French Catholic priest Raquel found living in Hanoi with their family surrounding them.

He couldn’t believe she planned all of this during the heist and executed it to perfection. He knew she was utterly brilliant from the moment he met her, but he loved that she could still surprise him even after a year of getting to know each other so intimately. He was looking forward to a lifetime of being surprised by the woman he was finally going to call his wife.

And the place she chose to reunite was perfect. Hanoi - a seemingly chaotic and messy city at first glance that can capture your heart when you least expect it. Much like she captured his.

**THE END**


End file.
